[PRP] (Sehka-Sema x Bennu)

[Hopefolly]

Being an adult kept him so busy Sema didn't always have leftover leisure time to just be himself. He never complained about the long hours spent hunting or the muscle it took to drag prey back over the sandy terrain. But then, he never said much of anything, so that was no surprise.

Other lions preferred to court females, worship, brag, or seek out some other pastimes deemed fun when they could. Sema's idea of entertainment was a lull in all the noise. To him, a good time and a quiet time were one in the same.

Since he'd been a juvenile, he'd found refuge in the chunk of sculpted rock near the tree. He used to have to clamber up the trunk and make a daring leap to reach the section of stone jutting out from the rest. One of the benefits of adulthood was jumping higher and climbing better, so now, he could just spring up to his favorite sunbathing spot.

Or moonbathing; the sun was beginning to fall and the moon beginning to rise.

Sema stretched out on his side. His tail dangled over the edge. The night had not come quite yet and he was wide awake, content to stare at the scenery and the only home he'd ever known.

Aurrie Beaues

 

[Rainhowl]

Bennu was bored, but this wasn't unusual for the dark furred youngster, who's favorite past time was doing just about everything her parents told her not to do. The sun would soon drift behind the dunes and odd rocks that jutted up throughout the pridelands and, as usual, one of her parental units would insist she curl up with her many brothers and sisters for a good night's rest inside their den in the temple. She had other ideas, though, and she slipped away from the watchful gaze of her current sitter when two of her siblings began to bicker.

Perfect.

Like most any youngster, she did not look forward to bed time and did what she could to avoid it. She tiptoed through the scattered bits of brush, seeking shelter from any watchful eyes. She'd gotten good at sneaking, or so she thought. She hadn't been caught in a while, at least. A while being just a couple of days, but who was counting? Regardless, her white tipped paws picked through the sand and she flattened her dark body against the ground, her tail tip twitching as she pressed on in an excited determination that would not leave her when she would become an adult. Her goal in mind was the eyrie, the upstairs rooms. The steps were too tall for her to scramble up - or they were at least. She'd grown a bit since her last attempt but knew the journey upwards would still be a difficult one for her little body.

She'd heard that gods sometimes rested in there and part of her wanted to see if they were there right then. That was Bennu, stubborn and foolhardy. At least she was as brave as the eagle that was her namesake, but it did little to outweigh the trouble she usually managed to get herself into.

Hopefolly

 

[Hopefolly]

Sema wondered if the youngest among them were aware of the pride's dwindling numbers. The fear seemed voiceless from his prospective; no one wanted to speak of it out loud as if they might bring about further decline just by doing so. The silence did not deter the wanderlust though. Dawnwalkers continued leaving their home in droves -- some turning their back on all they had been taught when they stepped paw over the borders. What were they to do? Could anything be done?

He had uncountable suspicions and explanations for why this was so. Solutions, however, had been known to elude him. Perhaps that was why he brooded the problem here, in the vast piles of rubble, where there was enough space for him and his finite questions without answers.

Once, he would have anticipated a few other visitors to the ruins throughout the night. No longer. He blamed the decreasing population. There was still life in the pride, but much of it was young life. Cubs were not supposed to be around these parts.

Not that it stopped the defiant ones.

He heard the shift of crumbled stone and sand on the ground and hauled himself up to see what had disturbed them. Lo and behold, Bennu was breaking the rules. Word of cubs always got around in tight-knit prides like theirs, so he knew her name and her reputation. Not much else. Sema tended to be the same way. Others would recite his name, say he kept to himself, and have no more insight on him.

The fluffy lion had never liked raising his voice, even in nonthreatening ways. Instead, he jumped from his perch and made his way to her. He would have made a pushover father, if this incident was any evidence. "Bennu, you shouldn't be out here," he said without any real disapproval in it. He scolded her because he was supposed to. The woes of adulthood. "You know you're not supposed to."

Aurrie Beaues